The St. Tammany Parish Council rejected a millage increase for the public library system Thursday night (Aug. 7) and voted to maintain current taxing levels for libraries and 12 other property taxes under its jurisdiction. The library board -- the only agency to seek an increase- - had asked the council to hike its rate from 5.35 mills to the voter-approved maximum of 6.29 mills.

The .94 mill increase would have provided an additional $1.5 million a year for libraries. It would have cost the owner of a $200,000 house an additional $12 per year.

A motion to approve the request was shot down by a 6-8 vote. The council then voted 13-1 to maintain the millage at 5.35.

Library officials have said they sought the increase to provide much needed revenue to make improvements to aging buildings, many of which are 20- to 40-years-old. The buildings are in need of various repairs and updates, including roofs, carpeting and furniture, assistant library director Kelly LaRocca said in an interview earlier Thursday.

"We have a lot of aging buildings," LaRocca said. "We have 40-year-old furniture in some places. It's repairs that fall outside what our operational expenses can cover."

Library officials also want to replace the Pontchartrain branch in south Slidell, a rented facility that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, LaRocca said. With the millage increase, the system could buy and renovate a building, officials have told the council.

The library board has an annual budget of about $9 million.

Citizens at Thursday night's meeting spoke both in favor and against the library board's request.

Barbara Dodds, of the League of Women Voters of St. Tammany asked the council to support the increase, noting that the library board has reduced its millage in recent years. "They do need the money."

A representative of the Northshore Business Council said his organization also supported the increase.

Argiro Morgan of Mandeville, who said she has worked in the field of education all of her life, said, "The highest priority of this council and these people is education. The library is an educational institution . . A vote for this is a vote for education."

A number of citizens on hand said the council should reject any and all public bodies' requests for tax increases. One held a sign saying "No more taxes." Another held a sign that said, "Make developers pay their fair share! Vote no to all taxes."

Resident Gary Leonard told council members he opposes all tax increases until citizens have a complete accounting of spending by public agencies. He said he would like to see forensic audits of all agencies.

Some citizens argued that developers were not paying enough money to the parish via impact fees.

Council members Jerry Binder, Steve Stefancik and Jake Groby spoke in favor of the increase. Stefancik called the library system's plan to make capital improvements a "reasonable approach."